The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-12-03
Seneca Saunterings.

seneca IL really UcCOmiuS houoPi'oh'
Her streets are brilliantly lighted at night
by the hollow checked kerosene lamp,
and the wind seems to temper its dying
walls as 1t hustles to get out of the way OF
the fire department. But In regard to those
street lamps; the young ladies of the
peaceful village don't like them one BIT.
You see their effect demoralizes the gentle
moonbeam, and so deviates Its purpose,
that 1t loses all its poetry and retires In dis
may. We heard of one young lady In
Seneca. and pretty young lady too, who
was holding seance with young gentle
man from Marseilles, who, by the way, has
love of mustache. They were setting
On the front step of her pas residence, and
the young mans arm stole around her vast
with sort of q confiding steal, when the
street lamp across the way burst forth into
brilliancy with suddenness that almost
took their breath away. She was q high
strung girl and wouldn't even allow street
lamp to intrude, SO she smashed 1t with
brick.
$50
Everybody belongs to the fire depart
ment, and its daisy of the first water.
That is. 1t gets water on fire the first
thing when 1t ia called out. The ancient
hand engine is on Its last legs, however,
and the town trustees are now negotiating
for a new tangled concern with "biler."
-.
One thing about the pretty little town
that takes strangers eye is the sidewalks
They are excellent for q town of it, size,
for the five thousand dollars collected from
the saloons all goes to keep them up.
Skating on the canal was first rate this
week, and the boys had jolly time of It,
Some of the girls we're out in the evenings
too, and we know that If they had been
homely the boys wouldn't have taken half
the pains to learn them to skate that they
exhibited on these occasions. How tender
these young fellows are with real nice
girl anyhow. All we'll! Seneca is like all
other towns. All the boys would rather
skate with some other fellows sister than
play turn out"
The river is about mile distant from
the canal, and way out Of the town limits.
The distance does not prevent the boys
from taking social SWIM In the warm
summer evenings though. But 1t Is en-
barrassing for boating party to run across
one of these social swims." II sort of
takes the starch right out Of both parties
as it were. Seneca social swims are not
famous for elaborate toilets.
*.*
Ever since Hoffman has been running
the National Hotel his Office has been the
resort of those quiet innoffensive snake
story tellers such as are found in feather at
"Mitch's.' Jones, the druggist, dropped
in there the other night and met Vail, who
runs the jewelry store in the north front of
Thomas building.
"Have cigar VAIL" said Jones; these
are from my private box How [puff ] do
you like 'em. Not bad, Ell?
"N-no." said Vale, 'n-no [puff not
very bad"
And Jones wondered why everybody
laughed.
Seneca is town Of original ideas, and
Beaubien, of the Rock Island freight Office,
is one of the most original Of them all.
He and Seneca Jim Smith, (Smith Is the
car inspector Of the Rock Ialand) yanked
. sewing machine out Of q car on the
switch the other week, and when they got
through with It 1t was simply mass Of
breaks and fractures. 1t belonged to
Beaub's future mother in-law, and he
hasn't been there since. No not once.
Mr.. Stanton says We did he injustice In
our last letter. We should be sorry, If we
did, and assure him we had no such inten-
ton and must have been grossly misin.
formed concerning him,
HAIRY.